FUR, MATERIALS, AND TUTORIALS: A LIST FOR NEW FURSUIT MAKERS

[Deo]

-ENJOY.​

FAUX FUR FABRIC
FUR IN THE U.S.A.
CR's Crafts
http://whitewolf.denofwolves.com/fur.html
Distinctive Fabrics
I'm Stuffed Fur
SyFabrics
Monterey Mills
NFT Fur (has 4-way stretch and 6+inch long furs, very expensive!)
Mendel's
Shannon Fabrics
Faux Paw Furs
Big4Fabrics
InteriorMall Faux Fur (search for PROMO SHAG or MONGOLIAN FUR)
HartsFabrics
Fabric Depot
Fabric.com
FUR IN CANADA
Fabricland-Canada
MacDonald Faber-Canada
Wexler Textiles-Canada
FUR IN THE UK
All Textiles - UK
Cowper & Tordoff - UK
CraftFabrics by JohnPaul
FabricUK
The Fabric Place UK
Mandor's - UK
Peacock Fibres - UK
QuickFabrics UK
MohairBearMaking Supplies - UK
FUR INTERNATIONAL
Beary Cheap - Australia
Laval's - Australia
Home of Poi - New Zealand
Life Sell - Germany

FURSUIT MATERIALS MAY INCLUDE:
Faux fur
furniture foam
fleece
faux leather
latex
foam latex
wick away balaclava
foamies/thin foam sheets
velcro
zippers
magnets
taxidermy (noses, jawsets, and eyes)
sculpey/Fimo/other polymer clays
resin
plastic mesh
hot glue
Goop glue
buckram (or other see through fabric)
McCall's M6106 Pattern


NOT FURSUT MATERIALS:
Duct tape (unless doing a duct tape dummy, or going with the tape approach on a head to make a pattern)
Fun Fur/crappy fur/fun shag/carpet
Any kind of paper, this includes mache, poster paper, and cardboard
cold weather ski masks
aerosol products (That includes spray paint)
super glue (To hold seams it's a no-no and the fumes are bad)
taxidermy forms (too small)
florists foam (also known as Styrofoam)
Papercraft
*Fiberglass (For most people this is not a viable option unless you are a professional with the material. That said it's not efficient, tends to be heavy and there is better stuff to use).
Wonderflex (this material is dangerous to use. Sweat and oils cause it to break down faster and if used in something like a head can easily become brittle, break, and injure your face).
Real fur when used as a whole fursuit can be dangerous when worn as a whole(real fur, opposed to faux fur is not a breathable material), expensive, and high matinence.

TUTORIALS:
Construction of Bent-Tail = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/4059176.html
Construction of Kiki = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/3636848.html#cutid1
Construction of Marcwolf = http://www.marcwolf.org/construct/index.html
Construction of Savoy = http://fursuit.tanidareal.com/savoy/en/04fmateriala.htm
Construction of Atpaw = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/2239743.html
Nicodemus's Fursuit pages = http://www.nicodemus.org/fursuit/
Fursuit.de = http://www.fursuit.de/cms/index.php/En:Fursuit_building
Balaclava Based Head = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/1334914.html#cutid1
Balaclava Based head = http://www.matrices.net/balaclava.asp
All-Foam based head = http://www.matrices.net/foam.asp
All-Foam based head = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCFqNmgH84Q&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Foam and plastic head = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLak8ccz5ZM
Plastic Mesh based head = http://www.matrices.net/matricessuit.asp
Furring = http://www.matrices.net/furring.asp
Furring = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jza6_wf7UQ&feature=player_embedded

How to make a duct tape dummy = http://latinvixen.phpwebhosting.com/dtd.htm

Digitigrade legs = http://www.matrices.net/digitigrade.asp
Hiding a zipper = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/4518669.html#cutid1
Tailoring a bodysuit = http://www.beetlecatoriginals.com/tutorialbodysuit.html
Changing body shape with foam = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIAe2_kEk5k&feature=player_embedded

Making Taxidermy Eye blanks = http://beetlecat.livejournal.com/2919.html
Bouncey Ball eyes = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/2281486.html
Bouncey Ball eyes = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAUALtvINOg
Plastic bowl eyes = http://www.matrices.net/eyes.asp
Following Taxidermy-style eyes = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/1745882.html
'Toony eyes = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/3390725.html
Follow Me eyes = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0KmFr04I4Q

Hand paws = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/2140828.html#cutid1
Hand paws = http://www.matrices.net/paws.asp
Feet paws = http://www.matrices.net/footpaws.asp

Ears = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6aEqMlzzlo&feature=player_embedded
Basic Tail = http://www.matrices.net/makingtails.asp
Curved Fox tail = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q4jhwPT1Gw&feature=related
Curved Husky tail = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fu1L9UCdlI
Dragon tail = http://community.livejournal.com/rarsuit/44876.html

Make your own stretch fur = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/4065775.html#cutid1
Horse tails/ lion manes = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl1-sK1ThVs&feature=related
Dying fur = http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/2552327.html
Airbrushing = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x0uQeplOiQ&feature=player_embedded


SITES:
http://fursuit.livejournal.com is the biggest community of fursuit builders to go to when you have a question. People post WIPs, tutorials, give advise and critique, provide redlines, and are a general wealth of information. Lurk there a bit and you'll learn a lot. They have a great section called "memories" which has listed memorably helpful fursuit building posts.
http://honestfurcrits.livejournal.com this is the place to go for hard critique during a build. These guys will rake you over the coals and make you better for all the harshness. Do not, DO NOT, post to this community if you are sensitive or can't stand critique, they will not molly coddle you there.
http://fursuitauctions.livejournal.com is the place to go to buy fur scraps. So you have a million different colored spots on your design and don't want to buy a full yard of each color? Do here. Buying scraps, full yards, and yard pieces is common. Along with claws, noses, eyes, partials, fullsuits, used suits, and new suits.
http://rarsuit.livejournal.com is run by the amazing Foofers. No one, and I mean no one, is more helpful or handy with electronics than Foofers. So if you need to rig up some LEDs or a fan for your fursuit go here. It's also the place to seek advice on building realistic or "rar"/scary suits.
http://quadsuits.livejournal.com is the place to go for all your quadsuit advise.


REMEMBER, MAKE THIS...

NOT THIS.

NSFW: http://bad-fur.livejournal.com to see more of what not to do/create.


​

 

[Martlie]

Wow, super awesome Thanks for taking the time to put all this together!
This is definitely a big help to someone like me who is feeling very overwhelmed by all the things needed to make a fursuit.

I have also found Beetlecat's tutorial section to be very helpful, although for some reason her website seems to not work for me more often than not. Maybe that's just my computer?

The only thing I'd say is maybe make as many of the things as possible on the list be links, and maybe make the links under "tutorials" be words? It'd just make it look cleaner and make things easier to find, I guess.

 

[Cyanide_tiger]

This should be stickied. For great justice!

 

[Trpdwarf]

This should be stickied. For great justice!

Done..and I'm going to hunt down a certain website people can use as a guide on what not to create and ad it to the OP.

 

[Deo]

Sweet. My silly thread got stickied. I feel special now. Anybody else with information feel free to chime in, I'll add it to the lists.

 

[Cyanide_tiger]

Silly, perhaps, but also extremely helpful to teh no0bz like me. ;D

 

[SGRedAlert]

I don't know, duct tape is pretty useful for kludging something up last-minute. I had only enough money for my hat with fox ears, my paws, and my tail - but not enough for footpaws. So I made some outta cardboard, duct tape and spoons. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4601781
I'm rather proud of it and I think it looks quite nice, considering I've never made paws before, I don't sculpt, and I've never done anything fursuit-y before.

If it's for a partial or full suit, making it out of duct tape is ridiculous. For a last-minute thing, I think it's a good idea, so long as it's not sloppy.

 

[Deo]

I don't know, duct tape is pretty useful for kludging something up last-minute. I had only enough money for my hat with fox ears, my paws, and my tail - but not enough for footpaws. So I made some outta cardboard, duct tape and spoons.

The thing is though that people want to make heads, partials, and fullsuits that last. Carboard and all other paper based products absorb and retain sewat. They literally rot off of your body while making you smell like funk. And if it's made out of cardboard you can never wash it as the cardboard would disintigrate. Duct tape is not a good material either as it gives off harmful fumes. In a head you have poor ventilation and making the head with duct tape is like putting a chloraform dipped plastic bag over your head.

 

[nereza]

another thing is if its your fist time you cant expect it to be aposoluty flawless it takes time to get the experience needed to create a beautiful suit , you can watch all the tutorials in the world on something but if its your fist time doing something it might not be perfect ... (learn it the hard way <.<)
but with time and practice just like any thing you can become good at it ^^
just look at the professionals oldest suits ,it kinda shows that every one starts off at bass one

 

[Deo]

another thing is if its your fist time you cant expect it to be aposoluty flawless it takes time to get the experience needed to create a beautiful suit , you can watch all the tutorials in the world on something but if its your fist time doing something it might not be perfect ... (learn it the hard way <.<)
but with time and practice just like any thing you can become good at it ^^
just look at the professionals oldest suits ,it kinda shows that every one starts off at bass one

Practice and taking your time. If you take your time, get critique and redlines from others, and continue to modify the foam until it's right you'll get a good head. Too often first timers rush and don't take the time to step away from it and come back fresh. That's where you'll catch your mistakes. Stuff like "Oh wow I didn't notice before that the muzzle is too short and the left cheek is larger than the right." And if something is wrong, fix it. Don't say "eh it's good enough" or "I spent hours on it, therefore it must already be perfect". If yo spend a lot of time making something and it looks wrong, tear it off and redo it. Yeah, it'll take even more time to get it right. And you may have to redo it 2-6 times, but the end result wil be better and the time spent is good practice.

You CAN make a good first head. It is possible (go check out Flux) but if you don't take you time, make it right, and use the proper materials it will look bad.

 

[Trpdwarf]

Practice and taking your time. If you take your time, get critique and redlines from others, and continue to modify the foam until it's right you'll get a good head. Too often first timers rush and don't take the time to step away from it and come back fresh. That's where you'll catch your mistakes. Stuff like "Oh wow I didn't notice before that the muzzle is too short and the left cheek is larger than the right." And if something is wrong, fix it. Don't say "eh it's good enough" or "I spent hours on it, therefore it must already be perfect". If yo spend a lot of time making something and it looks wrong, tear it off and redo it. Yeah, it'll take even more time to get it right. And you may have to redo it 2-6 times, but the end result wil be better and the time spent is good practice.

You CAN make a good first head. It is possible (go check out Flux) but if you don't take you time, make it right, and use the proper materials it will look bad.

I'd like to add on to this that you don't want to be working on a costume into the wee hours of the morning. Zeke and I employ a two rules when we make costumes.
1: Know yourself, observe yourself. If you start out lets say around 6 in the afternoon, and push on to midnight pay attention to your focus. Once you start working you learn what your time allowance. Eventually you need to stop for the day, rest, and hit it later. We do that by judging mistakes. Lets say we are sewing, and something goes on wrong because the focus was not there. We un-do and redo. After three strikes we call it quits. That gave us the ability to figure how long is long enough.

All people should keep this in mind. You can burn yourself out and make too many mistakes if work on it too long without good breaks and good rest.

 

[nereza]

yeah sleep is important ... rushing a protect is never good <.<

 

[nereza]

Practice and taking your time. If you take your time, get critique and redlines from others, and continue to modify the foam until it's right you'll get a good head. Too often first timers rush and don't take the time to step away from it and come back fresh. That's where you'll catch your mistakes. Stuff like "Oh wow I didn't notice before that the muzzle is too short and the left cheek is larger than the right." And if something is wrong, fix it. Don't say "eh it's good enough" or "I spent hours on it, therefore it must already be perfect". If yo spend a lot of time making something and it looks wrong, tear it off and redo it. Yeah, it'll take even more time to get it right. And you may have to redo it 2-6 times, but the end result wil be better and the time spent is good practice.

You CAN make a good first head. It is possible (go check out Flux) but if you don't take you time, make it right, and use the proper materials it will look bad.

im not saying its impossible to make a good head on the fist try .. all i was saying was that fursuiting like any thing else is a art form and mastering a art form for some it takes longer and some can get the hang of it right away
and yes there are few fursuiters that were good from the beginning .. but alout of fursuiters like bestcub , monoyasha and seral others older works you can see improvement though the years
i never sayed it was impossible but.. time.. it shows
old
http://lilleahwest.deviantart.com/art/Family-of-Furs-76594643?qj=3&q=gallery%3ALilleahWest+sort%3Atime&qo=868
new
http://lilleahwest.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d30fdlx
(look though her galer and you can see how she improved)

or monoyasha with hers
old
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1778665/
new
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4600307/
and it could keep going with alot of fursuit makers

all i was saying was because it a art form not every one going to be perfect at it the fist time around ... not that you cant get a good head or get quality but just like art .. if you draw and you look back at what you did 3 years ago compared to now there probably a difference .. just like time can improve crafts like these
or using a another art medifor it like learning to draw for the fist time .. some people will pick it up quickly and other with take years to get to the same point that the other started at.. costuming / fursuiting is no different
but don't get me misunderstood it very possible to make a good fist fursuit ... but time changes your skills and your ability witch makes a difference in quality for most people works

 

[fullmetalpegasus]

If you're looking for Glass Eyes, these people were courteous, quick, and inexpensive. They have many different kind of eyes and can ship anywhere in the US.

http://www.tohickonglasseyes.com/

They can also do custom eyes, which I think is pretty freaking cool!

 

[Savagelogic]

I'd like to add http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com for jawsets, eyes, claws and such.

 

[Trpdwarf]

To Fullmetalpegasus and Savagelogic: Done and added.

 

[Nekomimi]

Hey, thanks!
This really helped. ^____^

 

[Deo]

I went through and added more tutorial links and links to images of fursuit supplies.

 

[Paul'o'fox]

Great little thread! This will help me with my plans to build my own fursuit.

 

[Drakonman]

Thank you for this thread Deo. This has actually kept me reading for a good two hours. Sadly us Canadians get no love when it comes to fabric shops. Then again do we ever get anything decent in this country?

 

[Sar]

Scotland does not get most of these UK shops but i guess thats what internet is for. Great thread though. Thankx!

 

[Deo]

Okay here's an update for people looking to build fursuits.

http://fursuit.livejournal.com is the biggest community of fursuit builders to go to when you have a question. People post WIPs, tutorials, give advise and critique, provide redlines, and are a general wealth of information. Lurk there a bit and you'll learn a lot. They have a great section called "memories" which has listed memorably helpful fursuit building posts.

http://honestfurcrits.livejournal.com this is the place to go for hard critique during a build. These guys will rake you over the coals and make you better for all the harshness. Do not, DO NOT, post to this community if you are sensitive or can't stand critique, they will not molly coddle you there.

http://fursuitauctions.livejournal.com is the place to go to buy fur scraps. So you have a million different colored spots on your design and don't want to buy a full yard of each color? Do here. Buying scraps, full yards, and yard pieces is common. Along with claws, noses, eyes, partials, fullsuits, used suits, and new suits.

http://rarsuit.livejournal.com is run by the amazing Foofers. No one, and I mean no one, is more helpful or handy with electronics than Foofers. So if you need to rig up some LEDs or a fan for your fursuit go here. It's also the place to seek advice on building realistic or "rar"/scary suits.

http://quadsuits.livejournal.com is the place to go for all your quadsuit advise.

More on quadsuits later folks.

 

[furryraffic]

I use paper mache and cover it with faux fur, I never thought about it absorbing sweat and stinking over time; but, I have enough air circulation in the head that I don't really have to worry about it.

 

[Deo]

I use paper mache and cover it with faux fur, I never thought about it absorbing sweat and stinking over time; but, I have enough air circulation in the head that I don't really have to worry about it.

NO. Paper mache is NEVER a fursuit building material. NEVER.
NEVER EVER EVER EVER.
EVER.

Also, do you have permission by Beastcub to use her picture as your avatar? Or the permission of the person who owns the suit?

 

[furryraffic]

I didn't know whom it belonged to or how to ask permission, I just liked how the photo looked; I'll just remove it ( I don't want to make anybody mad )